Entertainment

Box.net Raises $81 Million to Take on Microsoft

Box.net, a popular cloud-based file storage and content management service, has raised $81 million in funding to take on Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and others in the enterprise space.

Box.net also announced the launch of the Box Innovation Network (/bin), a program to create a new ecosystem for enterprise applications, specifically mobile apps.

Bessemer Venture Partners and NEA led the funding round. In addition, SAP Ventures and Salesforce are participating as strategic investors. Previous investors Andreesen Horowitz and Draper Fisher Jurvetson also participated in the Series D expansion round.

"We need to provide an amazing experience for the 100,000 businesses already using Box, including 77% of the Fortune 500, while growing our global user base at an unprecedented pace," co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie said in a blog post. "And we need to invest aggressively in scaling our team and infrastructure – two things that will always require significant capital, when done correctly."

Levie specifically called out Microsoft, Oracle and IBM as both threats to its business and as laggards in cloud computing. "But for what the big players may lack in innovation or focus, they make up for in muscle," Levie noted. "Microsoft notoriously crushes competition on the third try. Oracle refused to give up on the applications market, and is now moving to the cloud with a strong position. IBM has customer reach and brand credibility that enable it to serve the Fortune 500 better than anyone else."

With the new influx of cash, Box.net has now raised a total of $162 million. It raised $48 million just eight months ago, but decided to accelerate its growth further.

The company says it has 7 million users and 100,000 businesses accessing 150 million files per month.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.